


five times greg woke up next to katie

by fuzzbucket



Category: Great News (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Romance, Slow Burn, red robin dinner rolls, sleeping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-10-25 02:18:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20716460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuzzbucket/pseuds/fuzzbucket
Summary: a journey through Katie and Greg's relationship.





	1. chapter one

The first time was entirely an accident. They’d been up late working on a story and at some point had moved to the couch in Katie’s office. He wasn’t sure who fell asleep first but he was woken up, at six a.m., by Justin rolling several televisions down the hallway.

Startled awake by the noise, he felt like he was in a vise. He was pressed with his back to the back of the couch, his head at an angle against the arm. His feet were resting on the floor, and something heavy – and warm – was on his hip. He peered over his arm to see that Katie had, at some point, fallen asleep and had wound up draped across his hip, her legs sticking straight out onto the floor. He took a second to think before he decided to act.

“Wilkerson! Get up!” She snapped awake and looked at him, askance. 

“Oh god, did we sleep here? Did I text my mom? Did anyone see us?” Words were tumbling out of her mouth as she jumped up to her feet, shaking out her hair.

“Yes, dunno, and dunno.” Greg took advantage of that moment to put his feet up on the opposite arm of the couch, finally stretching out. “That feels amazing.”

Katie glared at him. “Sleep in your own office, squatter.” She stomped out, and two hours later, Greg found her asleep on the couch in his office, an empty cup of coffee in her hand.


	2. chapter two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reporting trip goes a teeny bit awry.

They were on a reporting trip to cover a special election in Iowa. Because Carol had been in charge of booking their travel, they had one room, with one bed and one couch. Katie had taken the couch, while Wayne and Greg slept foot-to-head in the bed – almost definitely not what Carol had intended, but Greg still had a girlfriend. 

It was cold, and miserable, and snowy, and glum, and on their last night they had downed a bunch of cocktails at the bar and Wayne had followed some camerawoman he’d met at a town hall across town to see “a cat show,” which Katie had bet was a strip club and Greg had bet was an actual cat convention.

They were so drunk when they got back that they’d both fallen onto the bed, fully clothed, and giggled themselves to sleep discussing the cat show. At some point, Greg woke up to find himself asleep on his back and Katie under the covers next to him, her hand on his chest.

He was never good with emotions, but in the moment he was pretty sure he liked this. Though her eye makeup was smudged from the day, he looked at her lashes resting on her cheeks and let himself think just for a second that she was the most beautiful woman he knew.

Then, she let out a simultaneous snore and burp that sent Greg scrambling for the couch, while she didn’t stir. No one ever had to know this had happened – or how happy it had made him.


	3. chapter three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They've beaten Pelt. Where do they go from here?

The third time, at least, was sort of intentional.

After they’d beaten Pelt, and she kissed him in the newsroom, everyone went out for drinks. The rest of the newsroom peeled away until it was just him and Katie, sitting next to one another in a booth, alternating between deep conversation, snogging, and laughing hysterically.

They’d taken a taxi back to his place – it was way too late, they were way too drunk, and he was way too into her to let her go all the way back to the city.

When the elevator door opened into his apartment, her jaw dropped. “You’re this kind of rich dude? Your elevator opens into your apartment!”

“Yes, but don’t get too excited. At least twice it’s deposited a group of ten-year-olds who followed me, thinking I was Harry Potter.”

She smiled at him, and she was so gorgeous in that moment he couldn’t help himself – he pushed her lightly back into the wall as the elevator door closed, hands on her hips, and kissed her. It deepened considerably – and quickly – before he pulled back. His right hand had crept under the hem of her shirt and rested on her waist, tantalizingly close to the scalloped edge of her bra, and his left hand was bracing him against the wall over her shoulder. Her hands had also ventured out of bounds, with one pressed to the side of his neck and the other just north of his left Red Robin dinner roll¬.

“Katie,” he rasped, pressing his forehead to hers. “I’m very drunk.”

She kissed him lightly on the cheek. “So am I.”

“We shouldn’t… like this.” He looked at her searchingly and saw her smile in response. 

“You’re right.” She exhaled deeply.

“You should stay, though. I don’t want you in an Uber at this hour. You’ll wind up on a container ship to Mauritania.” She laughed and pushed herself off the wall, though neither one of them removed their hands.

“Gregorious.” Her tone of voice just… did it for him, and he leaned in for another kiss. She obliged, but only for a second. “Do you have a spare toothbrush? Dental hygiene is very important to me.”

He laughed and nodded. “Come with me.” He reluctantly pulled away from her and threaded his hand through hers. “Let me give you the tour.”

After a few making-out detours in the kitchen and living room, and a handsy moment in front of his binder collection, he showed her into the bathroom and rifled under the sink. “Here’s a toothbrush.” He sent up a silent prayer of thanks that when Cat cleared out all her stuff, she left all the household goods.

Katie leaned back against the sink, clutching the toothbrush in her hand. “Greg? Is this too soon? You literally _just_ broke up with Cat…”

He shook his head no. “It’d been over for a while, Katie.” He lifted her empty hand and brushed a kiss over the knuckles. “Don’t worry about it.” He left the bathroom, shutting the door behind him, leaving her in peace.

As much as he wanted to see Katie naked, it was much too soon for that, so he went searching through his drawers for something for her to sleep in. He threw some sweats and a t-shirt on the bed and went to the kitchen to pour them some water – hangover prevention.

When he re-entered the bedroom, Katie was sitting on the bed, fully clothed. 

“I put some pjs on the bed for you,” he offered, putting the glasses of water down on his dresser and walking over to her, but she pulled him down on top of her. She laid back, leaving him precariously balanced on his forearms over her.

“I’ll change in a minute.” He smiled down at her, not believing his luck. He lowered his lips to her neck, ghosting downward until he reached the top button of her shirt, then shot straight up.

“Bad Katie! Stop trying to tempt me.” She make-believe pouted, grabbed the pjs, and headed into the bathroom. He took advantage of this moment to strip out of his clothes and jump into bed; he could brush his teeth in the morning.

When she opened the door, she was dressed in his clothes, and he was thunderstruck. He picked the most shapeless, non-form-fitting clothes he owned, and yet she was just as attractive in them.

She ran over to the bed and jumped under the covers. “Your bathroom is cold, Greg.” It was magnetic as they drew toward each other under the covers, wrapping arms and legs around one another until they were fused from head to toe. He felt her – really felt her – in his arms, and she rolled over on top of him. His hands snuck under her shirt and felt her warm skin, heading upward until – 

“You’re not wearing a bra anymore.”

“Well, I don’t sleep in it, Greg. Imagine sleeping in your shoes.” He laughed at that. 

“Okay, no more shenanigans. We have to sleep.” She mock-pouted again, but a smile quirked up the edges of her lips and she rolled back onto the bed. He flipped off the lights and quickly spooned her, growing addicted to the feeling of having her next to him. His hand slipped under her shirt and he burrowed his head into her neck, pressing a kiss.

“No funny business, Gregorious. Like you said,” she mumbled sleepily. And he laughed, again, as they both slipped into sleep.

When he woke up in the morning, they were still spooned together; his left arm under her head, right arm slung around her waist, legs tangled. The sun crept in around the edges of his curtains and he slowly snuck his arm out from underneath Katie’s head. As expected, she was beautiful in the early morning light; he almost never saw her at rest, and he loved seeing her calm and at peace.

He quietly crept out of bed, careful not to disturb her. He was loath to disturb her, but he knew he should check in with work and have a look at his phone.

Before he left, he looked over at Katie, still asleep on the bed. He could get used to this.


	4. chapter four

The fourth time might be Greg’s favorite.

He woke up in her bed, in her apartment, with a start. He heard a horn honking outside and realized he wasn’t in his apartment.

He also realized he wasn’t wearing any clothes, and that an equally naked redhead was wrapped around him.

They’d been “dating” for a few weeks, and at Justin’s suggestion had “taken it slow” after their sleepover. No sleeping over, just dates.

They had both hated it.

Yesterday, Justin was out of the office.

They had to work late.

Wayne and Chuck had needed rides into the city for a Dungeons and Dragons-themed nightclub opening, and Greg offered to drive them. He then told Katie she should come along, since she would be heading in the same direction.

She winked at him, and silenced Wayne and Chuck with a glare as she took her rightful place in the front seat.

After dropping them off, she grabbed his face and kissed him, right in the middle of traffic on Ninth Avenue. Greg felt his self-control crater, and made it to her apartment in record time.

The minute the door closed, Katie’s clothes hit the floor. Greg remembered standing stock-still against the door staring at a very naked Katie standing across the room from him, then ripping off his own clothes.

They had maybe gotten an hour of sleep before the sun started to rise and the car alarm went off, but Greg wasn’t tired.

His eyes traced the room, remembering.

That bookcase, which Katie had pressed him against before she dropped to her knees.

The edge of the bed, where he’d taken her the third time.

That desk, which he had gingerly placed her on before dropping to his own knees.

And right here, where she rested her head on his chest, her arm thrown across his waist and her leg across his hips.

He’d woken up with his fair share of women, but it this moment he knew the wait was worth it, because he couldn’t remember anyone but her.

She stirred lightly in her sleep, and he tightened his arm around her and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.


	5. chapter five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the big one, the do-or-die moment.

Amazingly, it’s their biggest fight to date that preceded the fifth time.

They’d been out to dinner – Katie’s idea – and Greg had been unable to put his phone down, dealing with something from the higher-ups at the network. It was the first time they’d been able to make a date in a while, and Katie went from mildly annoyed to very annoyed pretty quickly.

Then Cat and her boyfriend came in to the restaurant, and Greg had bent over backward to be nice. They’d ended amicably enough, and it never hurt to be polite, but after a few minutes he looked over at Katie to see her eyelid twitching in a particularly aggressive way.

Then, before they’d left, Greg had accidentally called her Cat. Katie, Cat, he thinks it’s obvious it was just a screw-up, but Katie’s anger was lethal at that point.

They’d walked back to Katie’s in silence, Katie’s arms crossed over her chest as she raced ahead of him. When they got back to her apartment, Greg figured it was time to say something.

“Katie,” he’d started, but then she went in the bathroom and slammed the door.

He’d had women mad at him before. It would be fine, right? A few Britishisms and some charm and everything should be fine.

Twenty minutes passed and she was still in there.

“Katie?” No answer.

Another ten minutes went by and his anxiety was ratcheting up, like something terrible was about to happen.

Finally, the door clicked open, and he rushed to his feet.

Her eyes were puffy and red, her nose was red, and she was clutching a tissue.

“Oh my god, Katie, I’m so sorry –“

“That’s enough, Greg.” She wouldn’t even make eye contact with him, and he started to wrack his brain. _How bad was that, really? _ “You can go now, I’m fine.”

“Katie –“ He couldn’t imagine leaving her like this. “I can’t leave you like this.”

“Sure you can. Did you not completely ignore me in favor of literally everyone else in your life this evening? What’s another few hours? For that matter, what’s the rest of your life?”

He felt his heart drop to the floor. Surely she didn’t mean that. “Katie, I’m sorry, it wasn’t…”

“Wasn’t what?”

He realized he had nothing. “Katie, I’m so sorry. I should have been present and I wasn’t.”

She shook her head. “Can you just go?”

“Katie…” and this is when he felt fear. Fear that he was about to lose her, fear that she would leave him, fear that she hated him now.

“Seriously, Greg, please go.” And he did. He went for the door in a daze. He heard the lock slam shut behind him and it had been like a nail in his coffin.

He couldn’t go home. He couldn’t stare at his empty bed and the picture of the two of them next to it and her t-shirt abandoned on the floor and her toothbrush on his sink.

So he wandered around the city for a little while. 

He couldn’t really place what had gotten her so mad – the phone calls at dinner? Cat? The name snafu? Individually, they weren’t big deals.

There had to be something else going on, right?

He found himself just circling her block, walking around and around, passing the same three homeless guys and the same bodega and the same liquor store.

He tried calling her, only to have it go to voicemail. He hung up every time, not trusting his voice.

Finally, he sat down on a bench in the park nearby. It wasn’t too cold that night, but chilly enough for him to wish he’d worn another layer.

He allowed himself to think.

_What if this is it? What if this is the end? What if we break up before I ever get to tell her I love her?_

_Oh, yes, I love her. It’s been in the back of my head for weeks, every time I wake up next to her, every time I see her in the hallway at work, every time I close my eyes._

What had been stopping him?

Maybe she wanted to say it first. Maybe she didn’t feel the same way. Maybe Gregorious Walsh is a big, fat coward.

He picked up his phone and called her again. Voicemail, again.

“Katie. I know you’re angry and you have every right to be. I messed up, more than once. I’m so, so sorry. I just need you to know… I love you. And I fucked up, but I still love you, and I can’t believe I’m saying this over voicemail, but I do. I’m sorry.” And he hung up the phone.

At that moment, he decided he was cold enough, and got up to walk around the block again. He was on his second circle when he glanced down at his watch – it was one in the morning. Maybe he really should think about going home.

Just as he was about to duck into the bodega, his phone buzzed. A text from Katie. _Come here._

He ran, not even realizing how insane he must have looked. He snuck in the front door after some drunk college kids and sprinted up the steps to her apartment, then knocked quietly on the door.

She answered. Eyes still puffy, cheeks still wet.

“Katie, I’m so, so, so sorry.”

She looked at him. “For saying you loved me over the phone to get out of me being mad at you?”

He felt his brain break. “That too, I guess.”

“Greg! That’s supposed to be a special moment, and you ruined it by using it to try to get out of me being mad at you!”

He stuttered out a response. “One didn’t really have to do to the other.”

She continued to glare at him. “How so?”

He swallowed and continued. “I love you, Katie, and I’ve been trying to think of a way to say it for weeks now. I really didn’t want it to happen like this, but I also couldn’t think straight.”

Her glare lessened slightly. “Couldn’t think straight?”

He took a delicate step forward, like he was approaching some kind of timid, wounded animal. “That’s you, Katie. That’s what you do to me. You make my head spin.”

One of her eyebrows quirked upward. “Is that a good thing?”

He took another tentative step forward. “Yes.” He took another step, and he was right in front of her.

The corner of her mouth chanced upward in a ghost of a smile. “I’m still mad at you.”

He shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Katie. I should have been there tonight, I should have made more of an effort, and I definitely shouldn’t have called you by the wrong name.”

She laughed. “That’s what you thought I was mad about?”

He looked at her curiously. “It wasn’t?”

“I mean, eventually, that is what got me mad, but no. Originally I was pissed because you assigned the violence against women march to Gene instead of me and he totally beefed it.”

Greg laughed. “I should have known. I just thought you’d want to be working on something more investigative, that’s all. And you should have talked to me about it.”

Katie smiled, a real smile this time. “I couldn’t. I was worried I’d yell at you and get all irrationally mad and then tell you I love you to try to make you not mad at me.”

His heart melted. “You love me?”

She grabbed for his hands. “I love you, Gregorious Walsh. Even if you’re a complete idiot. I’m a complete idiot too. It works.”

He leaned in to kiss her, only to find her mid-yawn. He looked down at his watch; it was extremely late.

“Let’s get to bed, Katherine,” and he picked her up and brought her into her bedroom, laying her gingerly on the bed. He quietly toed off his shoes and got in with her, not even bothering to take off his work clothes. He looped an arm over her waist and pressed a kiss to the back of her neck. “I love you, Katherine Wendelson.”

“I love you too.” 

When their alarms blared a few short hours later, Greg awoke to find he was alone in the bed. He shot out of bed, panicked, and ran into the kitchen, where Katie was making coffee.

“Katie, what’s going on?”

“Just making coffee. It is going to be a long day.” She picked up the coffee pot and turned to pour it into her cup, but missed, dousing a portion of the linoleum with boiling hot coffee.

“Katie.” She looked up at him, eyes tired but bright. “Your boss is giving you the day off, and he’s taking one too.”

She smiled. “For realsies?”

He took the coffee pot from her hand and put it back in the machine and slowly guided her toward the bedroom. “We’re going to sleep, and then we’re going to spend the day together.”

So they laid down, cuddled together, and slept until the sun was high in the sky. Then, and only then, did Greg wake up to Katie’s sleeping form, face to face with him, fingers threaded through his. God, this was a struggle, he thought, but the best one he’d ever fought.


End file.
